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balance mod ([personal profile] balancemod) wrote in [community profile] balance_logs2018-12-31 02:29 pm

Lunar Interlude 2


Let's try to keep the paperwork to a minimum, shall we?
NAVIGATION







1. NEW RECLAIMERS

A. WELCOME WELCOME! FAH WHO RAHMUS

For the nine of you who will be arriving today, the story is the same: though you may not remember it, there was a moment where you were living out your life, at home or wherever you were ... and then there was the moment the Hunger came. And amid the television static that is your memory of that moment, a hand reached out to you, beckoning your escape as the tendrils of darkness destroyed everything that ever existed about your world.

"Would you hurry this up, please? Your world no longer stands a chance. Come with me, we are the last bastions of hope for all universes everywhere. And we're going to need you."

And then, unceremoniously, you are dragged through the universal wringer and plopped down on the soft, though not quite cushioned, grass of the Moon Base Quad.

There are other people out in the grassy fields — they may even be people you recognize. They may just be strangers, other Reclaimers, who recognize what you're about to endure. The things they say may be interspersed with static — as if the words themselves aren't reaching your ears correctly.

And you have a few minutes to chat before you're calmly led away by Bureau administration, to do something about that pesky static problem.

B. THE VOIDFISH

The nine of you are quickly divided into two groups, and brought to the easternmost geodesic dome, to an elevator in a well maintained, but sparsely landscaped field. There's nothing particularly ominous feeling about the space — in fact, the two guards who greet you at the elevator entrance seem pleased with your arrival. You are, after all, one of the few chosen by the Director, the few who will reclaim what the Hunger has destroyed.

And in a few moments, you're about to find that out for yourself.

After a tightly packed elevator ride, your group is ushered out to a rather grand looking hall, banners of the Bureau of Balance adorn both sides of smooth metal walls. And inside the Voidfish's chamber stands a tank — impossibly tall, and soaked in a black ink that obscures whatever the tank may be holding.

You may notice the sound of someone speaking. It's a bard, on his second round of introducing Reclaimers to the Voidfish, and this time, he has chosen to demonstrate the functions of the outrageously vertical tank not by playing violin music, but by reciting a piece of classical, and highly valued poetry. When he finishes, he pulls at a drawer just at the metallic base of the tank. He solemnly enters a few scrolls into its basin as the tank begins to light up, like lightning behind dark clouds.

And suddenly, you forget what that invaluable example of universal literature sounded like.

"Yeah, man, like... don't think too hard about it, it's like that every time. I'm guessing you're here to be inoculated? Just a heads up, you might want to, like, seriously, hold your nose while you drink it down. It tastes wicked gross, man.

Anyway, I'm supposed to tell you that you have a choice. If you drink the black stuff, you'll be able to hear through the, uh... Huh, how do I describe it? Through the [TSHCSCHTSHCHSC] sound. You guys like, hear that? Anyway, it's all about knowledge or something. I don't know, I'm just here to, like, feed the thing. We call it the [TSCHHSCHSCH], by the way.

So, like. You get a choice. You can drink it and understand stuff, or not drink it and then hear that crackling noise all day every day. If I were you, I'd drink it. But, hey man, I'm not like, your dad or anything."

The bard takes five cups and draws liquid from a spigot connected directly to the basin of the large tank. Stormy, muddy looking ichor is drawn into them, one by one. He offers each of you a sip.

Drink it (he wasn't kidding about what it tasted like), and you're inoculated to the wisdom of the Voidfish. You try to remember the poetry this bard recited a few moments ago and the rhymes, the meter, the significance, all come back to you. And if you think back to your arrival, some of the things you may have heard other people in the Quad say, that simply sounded like static, are suddenly clear. Bureau of Balance. Grand Relic. Reclaimers.

Yet you still can't remember the Hunger or what it had done to your world. And as you look back to the tank in front of you, the water has become clear. There's a jellyfish, as tall as a building, floating within. You look into the body of the creature and you can almost make out a beautiful, tiny universe floating within it.



2. THE TEST OF INITIATION

With your new knowledge on the Bureau of Balance and your purpose here in tow, you are led without hesitation to the Arena, where the final phase of your initiation into the Bureau will be held. You are partnered up, whether it is with someone you drank the ichor of the Voidfish with, or perhaps even a veteran Reclaimer, who either stopped by to help, or simply out of curiosity.

One Grand Relic has already been reclaimed, you're told. They were a pair of bright red mittens, held by the mayor of a small village who may have meant well, but under the draw of the mittens' incredible space-bending powers, was corrupted into using them, and to nearly killing everyone who lived under him.

You may have noticed, at some point while glancing out into space while walking here, to the planet below, a massive evergreen fir that stretches past the planet's atmosphere, very nearly piercing the Moon Base itself. It appears to be decorated for the holidays. That tree is the direct result of those mittens, the actions of a man who could not resist the temptation to use them.

Resisting that very same temptation is your task here. And with that order in mind, as you and your partner stand in the middle of the Arena, the walls dissolve, and the simulation begins.

You're standing in the middle of a forest. Ahead of you, situated on a pedestal, is an item. It could be any ordinary item: a pair of gloves, a teapot, a simple decorative bowl. Whatever it is, it's yours for the taking.

Take that simple item in your hands, however, and the building blocks of the trees around you suddenly collapse like shattered glass, and reform into new scenery — it may even be a place from home that you recognize.

A voice in your head beckons you. Perhaps there's a mistake you made, or something that went wrong for you back home that you wish you had the power to undo. Perhaps there's someone you wish you could help, or even save. The item that's in your hands has the power to help you achieve this, if only you'd ever use it.

Resist the temptation. Take the item, and drop it into a nearby deposit box to be destroyed. Your partner is here to help you — because once you destroy it, you will be doing the same for them.



3. NEWBIES AND VETERANS, AROUND THE MOONBASE

Three or four days into the month, now that the newbies are settled in, something strange happens: The next time you return to your flat from whatever errand or exploring you were doing, when attempting to use your Bracer to open the door results in extremely obnoxious beeping that persists for an entire thirty seconds, and a message on the screen next to the door.

ERROR: HOME ASSIGNMENT MECHANISM MALFUNCTION. GO TAKE A WALK.


Welp. Looks like you're locked out for a bit while techs fix that. Here's a few places that might be worth checking out.

A. PIECES FROM HOME

Should you find your way to the Dojo, there's a door that still has that shiny, brand spanking new door look and new door smell to it off in one of the less traversed corners of the building. A sign next to the door demands that you empty your pockets before entering. A scanner for your Bracer will unlock it, assuming it's unoccupied, leading you to a plain white room with no furniture or objects at all in sight.

As the door shuts behind you, a pleasant female voice echoes from all corners of the room, greeting you by name. If this is your first time in the room, the voice has a simple question for you:

"What memory do you value, or think of, most?"

Once you've provided your answer, the walls crumble, much like they did during the Test of Initiation simulation, reforming into something that is, again, pleasantly, or even unpleasantly, familiar.

It's a space from home. Perhaps it's your room. Perhaps it's your favorite restaurant (though, the place is curiously empty, and the food you find, for some reason, tastes like strawberries). Perhaps it's a park you always enjoyed visiting, or a corner of the city you lived in.

Whatever it is, you, and whoever you may have brought along with you, seem to be the only ones there. And perhaps the details aren't quite right — like maybe someone built a model of your home to explore, but a few pieces were missing from the box.

But it's close enough.

B. SPEND YOUR DOUGH. SOLVE A MYSTERY

Whether you're a newcomer or a veteran returning from your first Field Mission, you've been provided with some spending money. You can use it to buy yourself one weapon and piece of armor from one of the blacksmiths in town. Regardless of who you choose to help you out with that, it'll take about a week to complete your order, so time your purchase carefully.

There's also premade weapons and a whole bunch of other bullshit for sale at FANTASY COSTCO. Shelves and pallets of an endless array of nonmagical items, pretty much anything you can imagine, can be bought here, but there's one particular, innocuous item that seems to have Garfield the Deals Warlock in a tizzy.

The more those vinyl covers that can be used to decorate your Bracers are purchased, the more the name seems to spread, ghosts of whispers around the entire Moon Base, of a person who may very well be a ghost herself. Who is Miss Zarves? Who was Miss Zarves?

A powerful witch with the power to scramble your memories, insists one cantankerous woman who pours you a drink at Madame Frione's Tea Kettle. A heavyset, flushed with drink sort of man sitting next to you disagrees — Miss Zarves is a practical joke Garfield likes to trot out every couple of months to mess around with anybody gullible enough to believe him.

Whatever the case, it seems that the name alone gives everyone a curious case of déjà vu. Someone has to have information on her — and this is the Reclaimers' opportunity to hone their information gathering skills.

C. A (PERHAPS MANDATORY) DAY AT STOP DYING 101

Whether you're in class voluntarily, or whether you were dragged there on account of dying the past Field Mission, today's session of Fatalistic Fauna, and Danger Sense to channel your inner barbarian is going on a little field trip to the Arena.

Because this is your first test to see if you can put all that information that's been given to you in the first few lectures to good use.

You and a partner are placed in the middle of the Arena, in a simulation of an expansive, empty field, up against the first monster you were introduced to in class: A Bulette, a fearsome beast that can burrow, lunge, deal severe piercing damage, and jump an absolutely incredible distance. And you and your Reclaimer partner are absolutely no match for it.

Your only option here is to escape. Can you? If you are dealt simulated fatal damage, then the Arena will dissolve back to normal, and you'll be given extra homework and reading material for the day. Sorry, them's the breaks.

D. OPEN THE DOOR, GET ON THE FLOOR, EVERYBODY DO THE DINOSAUR

There's a signup available for those looking to take Dance lessons at the Academy. There seem to be enough slots available for 50 or so people, and the form's name simply reads: "DANCE, NOW. WITH MS. CHARLOTTE." It's a pretty large time commitment- a crash course in dancing is a rather intensive affair. You'll be spending 4 days a week for 2 weeks, 2-3 hours per day, learning all the basics of the waltz, the tango, and the quickstep. Don't even think about trying the cha-cha slide here, it's simply not pasodoable. At the studio, you can borrow a pair of ballet slippers and join in with Ms. Charlotte, which, for anyone coming to the class for the first time should be rightly horrified.

The newest member of the Bureau of Balance is a spider. A delegate from New New Aspen, Ms. Charlotte comes equipped with a bracer of her own, has taken in the Voidfish juice, and relocated here, to teach at the Academy. She moonlights as a ballroom dance instructor and a coach, and boy... she's pretty demanding with her approach, but incredibly thorough. You don't want to let Ms. Charlotte down.

The sessions she teaches will get you to learn the basics. Natural aptitude, of course, goes a long way, but she's very 8-hands on with her approach at correcting posture and steps. Not without compassion, however, if you manage to get blisters on your feet, Ms. Charlotte's web bandages will set and help heal those sore, tired feet. The next 2 weeks of this boot camp are going to be brutal.

E. THE MOON IS YOUR SPACE OYSTER (WILDCARD)

There are plenty of other locations around the Moon Base that you can explore at your own discretion. Feel free to refer to the Settings page for more ideas on what shenanigans you can get into.

Additionally, we'll be fielding Bender rolls again this month! With the exception of the three items that have been removed from his recipe database, if a food item was destroyed in a failed roll previously, you may roll to try to fix it. Bear in mind, of course, that you may make it worse.

Successful food rolls will stay in place at this time.




4. THE DIRECTOR ACTS; A GRAND RELIC DESTROYED

Erika has obtained and delivered the Space Mittens to Madame Director herself. She struggles to remain calm and composed at the moment, but the amount of immense pride and relief at recovering the Grand Relic slips through an otherwise sturdy exterior of coolness and level-headed features. She congratulates the entirety of the Bureau of Balance for their hard work, and relates to Erika that she couldn't be happier that she had made this world one step closer to being safe. A message will appear across all bracers, everywhere, with the following:

Reclaimers, welcome home and congratulations on a successful first mission. Although there were certain drawbacks and difficult decisions that had to be made, I believe, without a doubt, that you all have irrefutably surpassed all expectations. Congratulations on a job well done. However, next time, please do be more careful out there.

For those of you who wish to watch, my office will remain open until 1600 hours today. The relic will be destroyed, and if you would like to attend to see how it's done, please stop by.

There will be light refreshments and coffee served, of course. If unable to attend, you can watch the ceremony later on your bracers. Don't forget to click Like and Subscribe.


At the appointed hour, a ceremony will occur. She calls forth Davenport to wheel out the structure that's been created and designed with the sole purpose of destroying these things. She dare not takes the relic herself, no, refusing to touch the item at all. It's a medium sized metallic sphere, and once opened and closed, can never be opened again. Pulling back the curtain to an observatory, the Reclaimers can watch as Davenport sports a nifty pair of goggles, and wheels the orb onto a raised platform. He waits for the Director's signal, which is performed by an agreeable stamp of her oaken staff against the floor, and a nod. Davenport hits the KILL SWITCH, and the light show from behind the glass is amazing and terrifying all at the same time. You watch as the Space Mittens are obliterated from existence.

An eruption of cheering breaks out. This concludes the first successful mission, and a deeply needed win, for the Bureau of Balance.


blurb code by photosynthesis
ryuji: (when someone's lying)

[personal profile] ryuji 2019-01-03 05:32 pm (UTC)(link)
[Holy shit, this kid is an insufferable prick.

Which is, to say, Ryuji kind of likes his gumption and finds his attitude something similar and comfortable to work up against. He's actually met someone more brash and angry than he is, which means he can count on him to do something utterly stupid without thinking about the conseq---





Fuck. This is how people deal with him, isn't it? This is a slap to the face of self-realization, which persona users are particularly great at doing, but he doesn't have time to wax philosophically about any of that, because he's reaching forward to grab the holy grail of bullshit in the form of a glass sphere, and Ryuji grits his teeth.]


Dude!!! Don't be such a goddamn piece of shi---

[Nope, that last expletive is just going to be erased from the annals of history, because Bakugo's just going for it, apparently. He must be really, really unfamiliar with magic items and how incredibly cursed they are in this world. Spend five minutes with the chef robot from hell, Satanbot Bender III, and you're bound to find that out pretty quick. Ryuji's only frame of reference here was his own test, where the relic was at the very end of everything. Him and Qrow had to endure psychological warfare in the form of their pasts, put on display for both of them to see and mingle with each other, and at the finale, chanced upon a grave that they had to dig up to get to the final part.

But this looks like it's taking the entirety of the last test and pulling it in reverse- pitting the relic first and the Western Front of theater of mind wars right after. The context, to Ryuji, is blanked out. He has no idea where they are or what they're in store for, but judging by the blank look on his teammate's face, he knows that it's not good. This must've been a time in his life where he felt he failed. He's seen that before. He knows what it feels like. And if this world is going to mind meld with his own, if that's still a thing that's going to happen, those negative emotions are going to take the form of cognition that will literally come to attack the both of them. Ryuji needs to do something, he's the veteran here.

He wanted to be a huntsman, and that comes with protecting people. So, do it.]


Wherever we are, I know it completely reeks anal juice, but we can't stand still. This is the test, it's gonna fuck with your head and you can't... you can't let it get to you, man.

[He'll reach out for Bakugo's arm and begin to pull him out of the way. They shouldn't be out in the open. Regroup, come up with a plan, execute it.]

For the record, this ain't! A request! Let's GO.
bakucchan: (99;)

[personal profile] bakucchan 2019-01-04 05:53 am (UTC)(link)
[Honestly the fact that Ryuji was there at all is probably the only thing keeping Bakugo attached to reality if even a little bit. He wasn't there in the memory--- he can't even remember his name to begin with so if he focuses on that then he hopefully.. won't get lost in this. Whatever it is.

Though he doesn't come to that conclusion on his own, it's just something his brain subconsciously latches to while he's attacked by all of that guilt that suffocated his thoughts for days. It's the tug on his arm that pulls him out of it, and he tightens his grip around the marble and rips his arm away from Ryuji, his expression lightening up a little bit out of that fog as he lets out a yell.[


Don't fucking touch me, punk! I don't need you to hold my fucking hand!
ryuji: (you're as guilty)

[personal profile] ryuji 2019-01-04 07:55 pm (UTC)(link)
That s'posed to be an insult? Rankin' that at like, a total 2 dicks outta 10 dicks. You can do better than that.

[Calling Ryuji a punk is practically complimenting him, and he couldn't give two shits about holding another person's hand if it meant clearing them out of danger. Rolling his eyes, he gives up on trying physically moving him out of the way and just nods his head over to a building down the road that looks half destroyed.]

C'mon! This way, Princess Preach.

[Don't you fucking lose your marbles here, dude.

Like, uh.

Literally. Don't drop that relic.]
bakucchan: (95;)

[personal profile] bakucchan 2019-01-05 08:50 am (UTC)(link)
Shut the fuck up!

[But Bakugo follows anyway, despite the obvious Hatred for the nickname Ryuji's given him.]

If you call me "Princess" again I'll break your fucking arm.

[He won't but he really wants to. And thankfully he's got that marble tight in his hand but.. at the same time maybe it's not so fortunate. Because even while he's trying to focus on Ryuji-- on the insults and the anger he's feeling it's hard for him to ignore the relic calling to him. Telling him that he could fix it all if he used it's power. Doesn't he feel bad for bringing the downfall of the World's Hero? Because of him, villains are coming out of the woodwork and people are dying. Because of him, All Might can't save every life anymore. Because of him, more Heroes are dying on the scene without the help from the Symbol of Peace.

Because of him...]
ryuji: (no.. no... it was actually from up highe)

[personal profile] ryuji 2019-01-05 10:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Do me a favor and aim for the left one.

[The right one's the important one.

For reasons that don't need to be mentioned in metatext anyway.

As they move out of the obvious line of sight to start face tanking whatever the hell this world was going to throw at them (last time, weird shadows started swooping down and tried to kill Qrow and Ryuji, after all. Not to mention a headless horseman made out of ramen...), he does keep an eye out on Bakugo.

Listen, the guy's got anger management problems, but those probably come from somewhere. Or maybe they don't, but Ryuji knows sure as hell where all his abrasiveness had been born out of, and it wasn't anything good that ever happened to him to make him that way.

He sees that look in his eyes. Self-doubt, maybe? He can recognize it easily enough. Ryuji would rather take the entirety of his anger on himself than have him start to get under the effects of what he was holding. Fix everything. Win everything. Do everything. Whatever it was, the thrall was a pull to fix a regret in life. An easy button that would've made everything better. So, in a way to keep Bakugo focused on him, he'll react in a really dumb, self-martyring type of way.]


Oy, dipshit. I'm gonna assume that the Director wasn't braindead for picking a useless princess like you to save the world here, but whatever that thing's tellin' ya you can do, it ain't gonna mean shit if you can't even think for yourself. You let those whispers in and you're gonna end up losing all your freedom.

That worth it?
bakucchan: (100;)

[personal profile] bakucchan 2019-01-10 04:40 am (UTC)(link)
[Bakugo's listening to Ryuji-- just barely through his clouded thoughts. Thoughts swarming around and around as the relic talks to him, asking him if he was really okay with the state of things as they were. Of course he wasn't! He hated everything about the fact that all he wanted was to be a hero like the one he admired so much, and as a direct result of that the hero he admired so much was almost killed. He hated it so much... but... but currently what he hated even more than that...


Was Ryuji taunting him. Calling him a "useless princess", telling him that he'll lose his freedom if he gives in to what the relic wants. He stands there, his breath quickening as his brain tries to fight over what he should be doing right now and as a result of the overwhelming emotions battling each other within him, he does what Bakugo does best. And explodes.]


LIKE HELL IT IS!

[He clutches the marble in his right hand tight-- and drives his fist straight into Ryuji's nose. His eyes are narrowed in a glare, but there are tears welling up in the corners of them, his nose scrunched up in a frustrated sneer. He doesn't want to give up so easily on a way to fix what had been burdening him all this time, but at the same time, he doesn't want to look weak-hearted in front of this asshole. And he has a point, too. He's never been the type to let someone else dictate what he did with his life, and even if someone was handing him a way to fix past mistakes on a silver platter... he wouldn't take it.

He works hard to get to where he wants to be, and refuses to take any shortcuts.

So after slugging Ryuji as hard as he can, he makes a dash for the deposit box to get rid of the marble before anything else has a chance of shaking his resolve.]


Yeah, I'm a fucking damsel in distress-- a useless fucking princess! I always end up getting my ass saved by someone else, and even now I'm the only one who was taken to this stupid place and the Heroes are probably going crazy trying to find me... that's what happened last time! I wasn't strong enough to fight against villains and I became a damsel in need of rescuing, and because of that the world's greatest Hero, All Might, lost all of his power. Because of me, the world's starting to go crazy with villains thinkin' they can just do what they want without the best hero able to fight back.

But... but even if this stupid rock says it can change what happened, if that'll just make me give up my freedom in the end... it can go fuck itself!

[He tosses it in as soon as he gets there, and then yells into the skies as if he's yelling at the Gods Themselves.]

I'll never-- y'hear me?! I'll never let someone or some stupid thing decide what I'm gonna do with my life! I'm gonna be the greatest hero whoever lived, even greater than All Might and I'll do it with my own merit! Not with some magic power a pebble says it's gonna give me!
Edited 2019-01-10 04:41 (UTC)
ryuji: ([you gave tom all your money?])

cw: blood

[personal profile] ryuji 2019-01-11 09:31 pm (UTC)(link)
[He's punched in the face.

HE'S FUCKING PUNCHED IN THE FACE.

Holy shit, that's dizzying as hell, and even though it felt like it came out of nowhere, it was a perfect response to the egging on that Ryuji had laid down for Bakugo. He's running off, with the marble in his enclosed fist, and Ryuji's reeling, holding his face as he's starting to bleed heavily from that dent to his face. The arena's spinning at this point, too, and he knows he deserved it, but, still. HE PUNCHED HIM IN THE FACE? Moving his hand down from his nose, he sees the trail of blood that's sullied his palm, and the pain that's beginning to swell up there is just about the only thing he can focus on right now.

And it's great! It really is. Bakugo found the inner strength within to hate Ryuji enough to go get the job done. He'd be proud of that monologue over there, too, if it weren't for the fact that he has to spit on the floor to get rid of some of the excess that's trickling down his throat, and this is really, really fucking gross. Is this what it's like to work with him? Knowing that he's a little shit who just teared up emotionally while pulling off a sucker punch like no other?

Fuck, man.

Ryuji tilts his head back and tries to hold the bridge of his nose tight, to slow that shit down, but it's only mildly effective. They were supposed??? to do this together!?]


Fuckin'... asshole.

[But being a team player is like that sometimes? Or something like that- and as Bakugo slam dunks the relic into the deposit box, streamers of congratulatory confetti bursts out from the sky.

Which, is all in good fun, and everything, but Ryuji's making his way over to Bakugo. A tap on the shoulder from his teammate to let him know he's behind him.]
bakucchan: (80;)

[personal profile] bakucchan 2019-01-19 08:44 am (UTC)(link)
[Being met with confetti after such a heartfelt speech and all of that confusion tugging and pulling Bakugo's emotions this way and that-- it has him just stand there silently for a moment. Just. Utterly dumbfounded as he watches the confetti fall from the sky.

Part of him forgot this was just a dumb test, after letting himself get so worked up over nothing and it just dawns on him how he absolutely just. Let himself. Get so worked up over nothing.

And just as that hits him, Ryuji taps him on the shoulder and he whips around-- and immediately starts screaming as he does.Because. He's embarrassed...]


What the fuck do you want now, Big Mouth?!

[yeah that's the insult he's settled on because ryuji is just as loud and annoying as he is]